M. Night Shyamalan

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One of the most successful and controversial filmmakers of the late 1990s and into the next millennium, M. Night Shyamalan was the writer and director of such supernaturally themed dramas as "The Sixth Sense" (1999), "Signs" (2002) and "The Village" (2004). Like his idol, Steven Spielberg, Shyamalan's films concerned ordinary people who must draw on faith, family and friendship to help them contend with overwhelming and often unnatural forces. He was also known for ending his pictures with an ironic "sting" that, for better or worse, left audiences reeling at the final fade-out. Though "The Sixth Sense" and "Signs" were blockbuster hits, his other efforts received mixed or even hostile reviews from critics and audiences, and a much-publicized clash with Disney over the production of 2006's "Lady in the Water" diminished his profile by the time he released his first R-rated film, "The Happening," in 2008. Although given more shots at helming big-budget fare with "The Last Airbender" (2010) and "After Earth" (2013), both films fell considerably short of expectations, leaving Shyamalan's next career move uncertain. However, the success of the limited television series "Wayward Pines" (Fox 2015) and the horror film "The Visit" (2015) showed that the filmmaker's career was capable of its own unexpected twists.Born Manjo Nelliyattu Shyamalan in Mahe, Pondicherry, India, he was the son of prominent Indian doctors who raised their son in the United States. He was given a Super-8 camera while very young and filmed his own version of Spielbergesque fantasies and adventures while growing up in the affluent Pennsylvania suburb of Penn Valley. Shyamalan's father envisioned a future in medicine for his son, but his mother encouraged him to pursue his interest in film, and he studied film and liberal arts at the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University.While there, Shyamalan not only dreamt up a new middle name, but he also completed his first feature film. "Praying with Anger" (1992) was a semi-autobiographical drama about a young American-born Indian (Shyamalan) who visits his native country on a cultural exchange program. There, he discovers not only hidden truths about his family, but also the simmering tensions between Western and Indian cultures. Written, directed and produced by Shyamalan - on a budget of $750,000 raised largely by friends and family - "Praying with Anger" screened at the Toronto Film Festival to mixed reviews, though many critics in attendance noted that Shyamalan had potential as a filmmaker.After college, Shyamalan began submitting scripts to various studios. He found his first patron in Miramax, who purchased "Wide Awake" and agreed to the conditions that he would be allowed to direct the film and shoot it in his native Pennsylvania. A wan comedy-drama about a grade-schooler (Joseph Cross) who sets out on a spiritual journey after the death of his beloved grandfather (Robert Loggia), "Wide Awake" featured all the earmarks of Shyamalan's future efforts - a preoccupation with faith and the possibilities of belief in the face of traumatic events - but its treacly script prevented a deeper connection with audiences. Undaunted, he continued to work on scripts, and earned one of his first high-profile jobs as the writer of the hit kiddie film, "Stuart Little" (1997).While working on "Stuart," he began penning a supernatural story about a young man with the ability to see ghosts. The script, titled "The Sixth Sense," found its way to Disney, where it was instantly snapped up by Disney Pictures president David Vogel without prior approval by his superiors. The company balked at his payout of $2 million for the script and agreeing to allow Shyamalan to direct, so sold off its distribution rights to Spyglass Entertainment.Unfortunately, the move was a massive mistake for Disney. The film, which starred Bruce Willis as a psychiatrist who attempts to aid a young boy (Haley Joel Osment) who is plagued by visions of spir